VNA in Southeast Connecticut Ratifies First Union Contract

Union wins raises of $2 to $5 hourly for home health care workers at VNA with first contract

About 130 home health care aides and registered nurses employed by the Visiting Nurses Association of Southeastern Connecticut have ratified their first union contract this month, with substantial raises for the aides.

Matt O'Connor, spokesman for the AFT union that organized the workers, said for years, aides had started at the minimum wage, currently at $8.70. Now, all aides will make more than $11 an hour, and their wages will go up by 2 percent a year in 2015 and 2016.

Aides with more experience will be paid more — at five years, $12.61 hourly, at seven years, $13.36, at 13 years, $15.01, at 15 years, $15.60 and at 20 years, $16.50.

Lawrence and Memorial Corp. owns the VNA branch, based in Waterford, and agreed to the contract, which also adds paid time off, reduces employee costs of health insurance and accelerates vesting in the retirement account.

Martha Marx, a registered nurse who has worked at the VNA in Southeastern Connecticut for 10 years, is the president of AFT Local 5119, the local that represents these workers. She said that the nurses and aides' unity helped win the deal.

O'Connor said while many of the home health care aides received raises of $2 to $3 an hour with the contract, some were getting an increase of $5 an hour.

AFT Connecticut represents 1,600 nurses, technicians, and support workers at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London. The unit that represents nurses and technicians went on strike about a year ago. The Lawrence Memorial Corp. ended a lockout that followed the strike, vowing to create a new, more cooperative relationship with the union.

The union is holding an election Nov. 5 for some workers at an outpatient office owned by Lawrence Memorial Medical Group. The fear that work would be moved from the unionized hospital to non-union outpatient locations was a major impetus for the strike.